Genres are a means of helping us to decide which book, movie or video game we might enjoy and to choose the one which we believe could be right for us. Perhaps finding the movie that could be right for a family member or friend... and hoping that you have picked the correct film for their interests. It can show the areas which we may have stayed away from and perhaps need more understanding of the genre to take that leap and introduction to a new genre. However when considering video games in particular, there have been many fluctuations of the varieties of video games. Some may feel unique and some may appear very similar to others which begs the question, does it really matter whether label a certain game as a shooter or action adventure? This of course may apply to books and movies as well but when focusing on video games as a primary subject, in a way, it does help us think more about other forms of novels, comic books and movies too because in some respects, they're in the same boat. Some might be more unique whereas others maybe too similar to others. As well as the fact that this is a video game site so I might as well talk about something associated with video games. So here's a list of the reasons why I believe we shouldn't necessarily look towards the genre when looking for that perfect game which don't only apply to genres but also certain other aspects as well such as non-linear environments. Enjoy! 
Less differences between the genres
There was a time when video games would probably be too big for the capacity if a game was to feature multiple aspects of genres including action-adventure, platforming, racing and puzzles and for some games, the list could go on. things have changed however after the very first video game consoles were released and since the fifth generation of gaming at most (since I didn't really exist before then), video games have expanded to the point that it's difficult to really apply a single specific genre to the game. For example, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were many establishments of new franchises including Grand Theft Auto, Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank. Grand Theft Auto was able to feature the ability to freeroam, shoot and drive around whatever setting the game featured. Whilst there were a few open world games before, the fact that it features so many aspects allowed for the name of sandbox to become more well known. Although when games such as Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank cam along, it made me think that they were a new genre of their own.
Of course the style of the settings and the universe the characters were placed in were much more fictional (unless cuddly Lombaxes truly are real!) and therefore, they were designated with the term "Action-Adventure". Throughout playing the games, it did seem to have links with platforming and environments which are most likely non existent on the planet we live on. So it did suit the name of an adventure style game especially since the games themselves felt like a journey which was merged with both he concepts of adventure with the ability to journey between the stars and action with guns blazing. However, as I began to play through the series, I could tell that there were some elements which were pretty rare to find within action-adventure games, at least at this stage of video gaming. Whilst the very first games were mostly focused on platforming and the story, there were new introductions of racing and combat as well as arena battling and by the time of the third game, it was difficult to tell whether the game was truly focused on a complete action-adventure genre. With the second games, driving, puzzles and arena combat were becoming more essential to the point that it was required at least a few times within the game. Otherwise, you couldn't progress through the games and I saw many of these missions as a starting point towards the plethora of multiple optional racing missions. By the third game, it only just expanded upon this and by the time of the fourth game, it essentially became it's own thing.
So if I was to see games like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon as action-adventure, I would see Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank as their own type of genre. One that has a mixed bag of everything. They did feel more unique because they were tying in all these new elements which wasn't attempted before and the games of the seventh generation of gaming only reinforced this. Whilst games like Ratchet and Clank lived on, many of the games were largely focused on shooters and multiplayer and so therefore, many of the storylines which did exist were much smaller, even for games which were known as action-adventure. It was difficult to find games where there was a mixture of many things and perhaps it was because they were trying to become more realistic or shooter based. I mean, the Uncharted series did have it's combination of puzzles but even before I played the series, I wondered whether the fourth game would become a driving game of somesort. Maybe it was best that they didn't but it sure would have been fun! ... Maybe as a mini game in Uncharted 4 of what could have been? 
Although with the influence of multiplayer and shooting games, I think this series decided to head down further in to the territory of aiming down our sights rather than treasure hunting. I agree that the series is already a third person shooter game but I can't help that a lot of the action-adventure and storyline has become relatively similar and so without something new, it's not a huge adventure. Particularly since many people play and talk about Uncharted 3 for it's multiplayer. So shouldn't the series come under the name of platforming shooter if there was less focus on adventure and the single player and instead, more on the multiplayer and cinematics? Perhaps it would become more specific if the use of cinematics being part of a new genre. I mean, not everyone wants to sit through realistic action scenes as opposed to more uses of gameplay.
Although a substantial genre which could be argued to have changed extensively throughout the years would be role playing games. In a way, this is also the reason why I decided to write this blog because RPGs, appear to have not only expanded but many of the elements have become established within franchises which wouldn't normally feature these aspects... which are under the label of a different genre. For example, many people say that Borderlands is a first person role playing game due to the fact that you can level up within separate classes and even the developers themselves intended for the game to act as part of the role playing genre. However, aren't these themes already being within other games especially the shooters and a large proportion of multiplayer games. If you look at games such as Call of Duty and Battlefield, even though they're not focused and aren't normally associated with the word "Role playing", it does have many themes which are closely linked with RPGs and (perhaps more shockingly) more of an RPG than the Borderlands franchise. Within Call of Duty, you can develop your own classes and there's many customisation options available but in the first Borderlands games, you are excluded towards playing a certain class with only the weapons and powers available within that specific class rather than developing your own. Whilst many games have done this previously before Call of Duty, the fact is that it's not given the term RPG yet in some respects, the RPG elements are greater with a game which is labeled as complete first person shooter and if other games are doing this, shouldn't we call other games RPGs rather than simply first person? Borderlands does have some unique aspects for a first person RPG such as leveling up with the single player and quests to accomplish. However, there some games which are catching up and therefore making Borderlands much less unique.
When I ask people about Ubisoft games, they usually think that series like Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs are role playing games... even though they aren't considered to be role playing games by the developers. I can see why many people believe this and when looking at games such as Far Cry, there is a leveling up system, ability to buy different weapons at different ranks and quests to accomplish. In fact there are many open world games which are adopting something similar and I think it's likely that any open world games released now will have a plethora of side missions... regardless of whether they're enjoyable. This appears to be distorting the view of what makes a role playing game and what makes simply an action-adventure open world game... as well as a shooter. Especially since many RPGs are developing environments which require the player to take over different areas and checkpoints and there isn't much uniqueness to divide it from the open world games which require you to take over and area with the same objectives and how to achieve them.
Perhaps the perspective of how we view games could also play a role, not just with how we see RPGs but how we might view a single game.
Different perspectives
We all have different perspectives, thoughts and ideas. Some may be similar to others and we may be able to relate towards them but some could be much more different in terms of how games are changing and where we would want a specific franchise to go. In a way, role playing games do count as them because whilst the developer has said it's a certain genre, we may agree or disagree and it also comes down to certain simple aspects such as humour. I have noticed that a large majority of the games I've played do have a lot of humour within them but then again, there are only a handful which are called comedy games as part of the genre. Maybe this is because the whole game is focused on humour but when I see the games which have come under this category, there are many gameplay mechanics involved and there are many games to which this could easily become part of the comedy style genre. In particular, a series like Tales (or Tales of) usually does have a lot of humour and despite it being a series focused on the story and RPG elements, I can't help but think that it should possibly share the comedy name with the RPG genre. It's more like half and half in my opinion in terms of seriousness and well... sillyness. Sometimes, tehre's a serious tone but then evolves very quickly in to a bit of humour and usually some kind of fight.
Although not everyone is going to see this as funny and I admit, at some points, it gets a little weird but the difference between how we may view how much humour a game has, to how close it is to the genre is given, is as varied as whether we believe the game is good or not. Many people have different types of humour so they may believe that the game is more serious than someone else or it just may not suite there humour. Many people may have played very different games during their lives so therefore if someone has never played a seventh generation or eight gen first person shooter or even a role playing game, of course they may feel differently about Borderlands being an RPG. I personally don't think the game is a full RPG since I have already played a whole bunch of first person shooters with RPG elements... basically many of the games released today... at least for the multiplayer. However if I played it when I was much younger, then my perception on Borderlands would likely to be different than it is right now.
It also may change overtime depending on the circumstance since there may a few differences from the previous installments which may make it appear much different from the genre it was given. Dead Space 3 is part of a franchise which features survival horror tones but the third game doesn't really feel like a survival horror game and instead something more closer to... a third person shooter. Some people may have found the game to be freaky but not as much as the others. Of course, the developers may not have known completely that it would end up appearing more like a shooter in the end but it illustrates how developers may rush their games with rapid deadlines. So if it was given the name third person shooter rather than survival horror, then survival horror fans wouldn't have been as disappointed... if they were also shooter fans.
For some games I'm not entirely sure whether everyone would agree upon the same genre. A game like Just Cause 2 had a whole bunch of wacky glitches and some crazy action so for me, it would stand as an action open world humourous game. The glitches themselves are part of the physics of the game but it's possible that they may never have been deliberate. In that case, perhaps it's the perception of how we believe the game is. This is similar to Dead Space 3 because it's possible that they didn't actually intend for the glitches to happen... and not everyone enjoys glitches no matter how funny they maybe. Therefore, would it be better to consider this game as well... crazy? Some people may not consider it to be action-adventure since it's more focused on destruction and action as opposed to the adventure part. Unless you consider that to be an adventure.
The fact that not everyone will agree upon the same things is reinforced by the aspect that here are many things which may never have been conceived before and therefore that particular theme would become more unique but for someone who wants to put under a particular category, it may not really work out right. I mean it could have some elements of many things such as Space, historical fiction, superhero and even apocalyptic. It would be easy to put it under sci-fi but many could see it in different ways or even part of it's own thing. I mean if it's about a being which has the ability to manipulate many different beings across the planet, where would that go under? Some people might say superhero but then others could say apocalyptic. What if it about a Volcano that was generating a new substance allowing for a new energy source rather than geothermal. Would it be fantasy or even mystery? Is there even a genre designated for everything? Perhaps not because it might just be up to interpretation.
So if people see the game in different ways, maybe it's not completely down to the developer conforming to mainstream audiences (although it would make a lot of sense) but it could also be due to the fact that video game genres need to be more specific and mention many different themes for us to understand them more clearly. Therefore, this could allow for names of new genres and themes rather than one major genre.
New genres and themes
Ever since the development of genres and conversion between them, there have been noticeable signs where the game's have remained unique and I believe that games such as Watch Dogs and Infamous: Second Son are an example of this. Both of the games feature an open world environment but they are both more unique when compared with other non-linear games including Grand Theft Auto when you look at a few of their concepts. Both of which features a character who can manipulate the city around them and in a way, that could make it a new genre or at least a sub genre or a theme. I mean if this kind of game became more widely common and recognised as part of it's own thing, then maybe it could be considered a new genre. If games like Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter aren't as common to find anymore, wouldn't it be nice to label them with a new genre like action-adventure... with a bit of everything? I mean it would sure help for people who are looking for more variety within a single game.
A single genre won't always tell everything about what the form of entertainment is and whether it is more unique than something else. Therefore, would it be more efficient to label these games by the themes rather than a single genre? Themes could mean all kinds of things and could help to become more specific for whatever the gamer is looking for. If I was looking for a novels with survival horror, chances are that it will likely be dominated by Zombies. Wait! Why am I possibly talking about novels?! These kinds of issues are also within comic books, movies and video games and almost everything else. It's like this kind of thing is spreading in itself. Anyways, if I wanted to look for something more than Zombies but still based on survival horror, it might be difficult and it's likely that by the time I reach something outside of Zombies, it will either be very limited in terms of the number of varieties of survival books outside of Zombies or just things that might not interest me by the time I buy it. That one genre of survival would have wasted my time trying to get through all those Zombie books. Even if I did type up a theme like Volcanoes, it doesn't really have a recognised theme as Zombies do because in a way, Zombies have become like a genre themselves... which isn't great who don't find them very enjoyable. Believe me!
Books and video games are different forms of entertainment and usually books will represent the themes as the genres such as superheroes whereas a video game would be more focused on comparing the storyline and gameplay together. For example, even for games such as Infamous: Second Son, it wouldn't be applied to the superhero genre even though that's what it's based on. Therefore, I believe that if there multiple genres given just like books are, then it would be a real help looking for the perfect game they're hoping to buy.
Furthermore, if we're being specific about a particular genre, then perhaps we could delve more in to the style of the storyline. I mean if there are names given to certain games including Grim Fandango are given the term dark comedy, then couldn't there be a more constructed way of dividing the types of storylines such as whether it's a story arc or if it's standalone? Especially since it could help those looking for a story over multiple different games and forms of entertainment such as comic books to gamers who are simply looking for a game focused on a standalone aspect. Maybe even tell us whether the game is simplified which could help towards those who don't want to be confused and start scratching their heads every 5 seconds. I mean franchises such as Assassin's Creed started off great with it's story (in my opinion) and it felt like it was really going somewhere and knowing the story all the way would help. Especially if there would be surprises after Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. However the franchise has become much more simplified and Ubisoft even says this themselves since they don't want multiple games for a single character. Perhaps even tell us whether the game is single player or multiplayer focused. Crysis 2 and Payday are more based on the single player with the playability of the single player at least over 6 hours. Although, many people may simply buy a shooter believing that it's all about the multiplayer which would be disastrous if I was buying Crysis 3 just for the multiplayer... I could only access a single match!
Overall, genres do help in some way to guide us to the games we may be looking for and perhaps, areas where haven't really tried very much or even attempted. It's the guiding point of our journey towards finding a game of a particular concept. However, in terms of video games, that's what it is. A starting point and unlike books, it's not always very specific for what it features. With some video game sites, it may give a whole bunch of details involving what's within the game and it's themes such as Assassin's Creed would be considered to have swords, conspiracies, merges with the historical and modern day and the list goes on! However most will simply say, action-adventure or role playing game. Whilst many genres are divided including racing with simulation and kart racing, this isn't the same thing for all the genres. If there were new aspects or genres listed, then it would give a more clear perspective on what we're looking for. Then again, it may always be up to different perception and games are constantly changing in different ways. A game which appears to be a shooter may feel like a role playing game to another. Someone who believes the storyline is complex and part of a story arc could be different for someone who's played more games with complex stories and therefore, they will think differently and perhaps, believe it's more simplified. Most likely however, it will probably become more difficult to determine what kind of genre the game is, especially if many will be focused on the storyline and less focus on gameplay. Particularly with episodic material. So I believe it's inevitable that there will be more genres applied to games similar to the state that books are treated but there maybe some games which may appear more unique and others similar to games from other genres.
So what do you think? Do you agree that labeling certain genres could be subject to interpretation because of the similarities between other genres and do you think that it would help if there were other genres and themes given?
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed